Articles by Alok Banerjee

It is not often that we hear the terms research center and upscale restaurant in the same sentence. Well, design firm Snøhetta plans to not only combine the two but fuse them with flair, in the form of the 'Under', a state-of-the-art underwater structure to be constructed on the southernmost point of the Norwegian coastline…

The cornerstone of the practical usability of an electric vehicle always related to its range per charge. In essence, beyond the car mechanism efficiency, it is the battery technology that is poised to play a bigger role in the future of low emission EVs. And that is exactly where Japanese multinational conglomerate Toshiba is headed…

What is the advantage of a lighter vehicle? Well according to the US Department of Energy, a reduction of just 10 percent of a vehicle's weight can lead to the increase of its fuel efficiency by around 6-8 percent. And beyond carbon-fiber, Japanese scientists are actually looking forward to the more organic wood-pulp to play…

The third most abundant element in our earth, while also being the most abundant metal in the crust, aluminum has its fair share of property-based advantages, ranging from durability, malleability to corrosion resistance and conductivity (along with superconductivity). And now, one can potentially add intrinsic lightness to the list of 'assets', beyond the foil form…

An archaeological dig on the small island of Chapelle Dom Hue, off the coast of Guernsey, doesn't sound like anything out of the ordinary. But this three-week project took an aberrant turn when researchers came across a discreetly dug grave hidden beneath the soil layer. Expecting the tomb of a high-ranked medieval monk, the archaeologists…

The very compound word 'desert farm' seems like an oxymoron without a context. And it is this scientific context that is brought forth by the engineers of the Sahara Forest Project. Starting out one of their farming stations near the port city of Aqaba, Jordan, the researchers have combined a slew of advanced techniques and…

Throughout the history of mankind, people have used the potential and kinetic energy of flowing water to 'fuel' mechanical contrivances, ranging from the rudimentary watermill to massive turbines. One of the primary reasons for such a technological pattern spanning over millennia relates to the intrinsic advantage of flowing water that is independent of other parameters…

There is more to this art installation beyond its alluring geometrical arrangement. Designed by the resourceful folks over at SPACE10, a Copenhagen-based future-living lab, the 13-ft tall Algae Dome has been envisaged as a food-producing mechanism that can also supply oxygen within a closed loop system. (more…)

There is more to this delivery truck than that meets the eye. The Gecko Camper hauls with itself a full fledged two-story living solution. The impressive habitable scope entails a range of features, including roof-top tents, pop-up campers and truck canopies. In essence, the design is not only tailored to your camping trips but also…

By virtue of their relative strength, spider webs are already one of the impressive organic 'structures' of the natural world. And now adding to this wonder of nature, scientists (from the University of Trento) have been able to enhance the metabolic rate of a batch of spiders by basically feeding them graphene and carbon nanotubes,…